Dance with Me
by happyYAPPIE
Summary: Look at that poor young man, planted on that same old bus stop, with nowhere to go and nothing to do, left with only his regrets, and that poor young woman, nothing to even call her own... Who knows? Maybe they can fix each other.


((_Hey guys! Yappie here with my first story! :D This takes place in an AU where the GGs were never formed, so they're forced to meet in other ways. This story, however, focuses on Gum and Tab, and how they meet. This was initially a collab with Kaitie moodysshuffle: . . Enjoy!))_

**Tab's P.O.V.**

"This sucks."

I let out an exhausted groan as I rested my head against the back of the grimy bus stop bench, shoving my hands into my pockets to avoid accidentally touching anymore old chewed-up gum stuck to the bottom of the bench. The deafening sound of the streets of Tokyo rang in my ears, but I simply tuned it out. When you live here for as long as I have, you get pretty used to it. In fact, you kinda grow to like it. It starts sounding like a lullaby, the hustle of everyone in the city unintentionally forming a choir of industrial instruments. Or something like that.

It was the middle of July, a little over a million degrees, the sort of heat that makes you sweat profusely without doing a thing, the kinda temperature that makes you regret having thick shoulder-length hair. The kind that makes you think about all the other clothes you could've put on besides a thin coat, thick pants, wooly beanie, and some weird t-shirt with a logo from some band no one really knows about. Sitting on a bench, waiting for something to happen gave me time to think about all the regrets I had for the day. Part of me wanted to shed the black jacket providing half of this profuse heat, but it matched with my hair, and it gave me that aura of wanting to be left alone.

"…"

I lay down on my back as immense crowds of people rushed past me, little kids rushing to school, adults in boring suits trudging off to their lame jobs, a few teenagers- probably skipping class- gossiping to each other as they walked by…

And then there was me, Datsune Sakayomi, lazily shifting on the wooden bench in the center of it all, trying hard to ignore the fact that I had nowhere to go and nothing to do. Every once in a while, I'd get a puzzled side-glance from some well-groomed businessman, probably wondering what this scruffy-looking loser was doing in oddly warm clothes on a bench in the middle of July, but I've learned to just brush that kinda thing off.

I couldn't help but feel a tinge of envy prick at my conscious like a rose's thorn, though. These people around me at least had their lives together, at least they had things to do, people to see, lives to lead- among a crowd of people who had the pieces of their lives put together, I was the obvious exception. A combination of this realization and the sweltering heat made me finally decide to relocate my position.

Shibuya-cho was always busy, cars going by, people shopping, walking around, construction being done, et cetera. It was probably the busiest part of Tokyo-to, sprawling with all sorts of different people. The best place to see them all was Hidamari Square, in the heart of the district. People of all types gathered there, for reasons only they knew. As the sun beat down on me, I walked down the streets, trying to find my way to the square, so I could finally stop wasting time while I'm out. After a few turns and odd looks, I walked into an expanse of paved, brick walkways, a sea of people, and loud music playing from every direction.

"WOO-HOO!" "OH, YEAH, MAN, LOOK AT THAT GUY GO!" "YOU'RE KILLIN' IT, MAN!"

The unmistakable piercing sound of shouting and cheering rang through the polluted air, drawing my focus towards a crowd off to the side of the wide circle. I turned my droopy head towards them, fixing my amber eyes onto a small crowd forming in a corner, when the blissful sound of an acoustic guitar and some drums quickly caught my attention. A small grin crept onto my face as the beautiful sight of a few guys- almost as shaggy-looking as me- began to dance to the beat of the sweet music. Just watching it gave me a jolt of adrenaline.

Street performers- one of the few advantages of living in such a big city- never failed to bring a genuine smile to my face. Things've been mighty tough these days in Tokyo, what with the over-bearing government trying to strip us of every last right we got and this new Rokkaku guy rising to the scene, all just to make everything a bit harder for average people like us to just live. Things have gotten so tight that we can hardly express ourselves anymore without runnin' into some sorta trouble with the law. These street performers, though- these guys didn't care about the corrupt government or the law or any Rokkaku weirdo. They just wanted to dance, to express themselves with their bodies and their sound, something that was getting harder and harder to do these days, but they just didn't care. They wanted to be free, and they were. They set out and were doing things most people were too afraid to even think about.

I soon felt myself longing to cross through the crowd and dance with them, like something was magnetizing my soul towards them, but I stood back and merely observed from a distance. I knew if I tried to even come close to their talent, I'd be laughed out of the city. I look more like an elephant trying to tango when I dance- not exactly something I'd want to flaunt to everyone at Hidamari. After a few moments I came to the devastating realization that I'd never really be one of them, and settled with remaining an onlooker, entranced by the rhythm and fluent motion of their bodies, and after a good ten minutes or so, I found myself rhythmically tapping my fingers and nodding my head to the laid-back beat.

It wasn't long before a crowd so thick you could hardly see past it had surrounded the dancers, and I heaved a sigh of frustration once they completely vanished behind the great crowd, and I realized that if I wanted to watch any longer I'd have to push past every single person in that forsaken crowd. After a moment's hesitation, I finally gathered up the courage to rip myself from my standstill, and managed to weave through the couples and phone-talkers blocking up the way, but when I got up to the mass of people, I realized just what kind of number was gathered. These guys musta had some serious talent to draw in this many onlookers. As I reluctantly began to push my way through the immense, sweaty crowd, something caught my eye that caused me to halt dead in my tracks.

"Hey look, I-I dunno 'bout this..." said an absolutely gorgeous young woman, sitting on the cracked gravel with her legs crossed. I took a tiny step back as I basked in her beauty, my muscles freezing into place. She sported an odd, scanty, cream-colored dress, adorned with striped-green sleeves, that stopped several inches above her knees; tufts of scruffy blonde hair reached down just past her shoulders; some white gloves with an insignia above the wrist completed the image. Over the live music, I could just hear her talk to her black-haired friend about something or other. Between the pounding of the drums, the whooping of the crowd, and the rhythmic stomping of the dancers, it was hard to make out any individual noises.

I slowly sunk back into the crowd, twiddling with my fingers and biting my lip nervously. Dear Lord, was she cute. Her outfit was kinda funky, though- never seen anyone wear something like that out in public. Good to know I wasn't the only one dumb enough to wear long sleeves in the middle of this sweltering July, though. I mulled over the possibility of her being one of the street preformers, which was odd, to say the least. She just didn't have the... ENERGY exerted by these guys, that care-free aura and spirited vigor that defined them. Seriously, that weird girl nearly crumpled on the ground with her arms crossed across her chest and the worrisome expression sewn onto her face... No way she was one of these guys.

"Hey now, c'mon, blondie, time to show us what'cha made of!" The sound of a young man's vigorous shouting drowned out the music and the dancers' romping and carried out through the formidable crowd, followed by the screeching sound of who I could only assume was the gorgeous girl I had seen only moments ago.

"B-but I can't!" the girl yelped, her voice trembling with either worry or anger, it was kinda hard to tell. I laboriously pushed my way past a few particularly tall teens, and I flinched sympathetically as a pitiful sight met my eyes.

"C'mon, girl, you can't chicken out on us at the last second like that!" A shaggy-looking man with black hair- presumably the one who she was nervously chatting with previously- was tugging at her scrawny arm and practically dragging her to the center of the scene whilst she desperately wriggled in his grasp, sneering and muttering foul obscenities as she vainly attempted to escape.

"I-I don't care!" she pouted, and her body relaxed all at once as soon as the strange man released her from his hold. "You can't make me do this..."

The kickin' music paused abruptly and the dancers skidded to a dead halt (much to my dismay), each staring at her as though she had suddenly vanished and became a ghost. Their audience began to mumble and whisper, each directing their judgmental glares at the blonde girl practically throwing a fit in the middle of a performance. I merely hunched over and slunk back a step or two, nearly knocking down a fellow onlooker, but I hardly noticed. Every iota of my attention was focused on the troublesome scene unfolding before my eyes.

She stood glowering at everyone, her fists clenched and her legs steeled, but the fact she was tearing up gave away her defiant pose. I merely hunched over and slunk back a step or two, nearly knocking down a fellow onlooker, but I hardly noticed. Every iota of my attention was focused on the scene unfolding before my eyes. "C'mon, Gum, you're just gettin' a case of stage fright, that's all!" The man bargained with her, but she simply sighed, and sat down. "Not today," she sneered. Vicious boos from the crowd started being thrown at her, and I couldn't help but notice her long, lean legs become noticeably wobbly, and a fire of some sort welled up inside me. No way these guys were gonna keep pesterin' this poor kid, huh? Awful mean, if ya ask me, pushin' this cute girl around like she was at their beck and call… Or could they? Something inside of me wanted to save that poor girl from this awful situation, and get her away from all these insults and the pestering, to be like… Kinda like her knight in shining armor, except… Somethin' less lame than that. 'Course, I could never do somethin' like that… Hah, like anyone would ever take me seriously if I pulled a stunt like that…

Or would they?

My mind flashed between my two options: I could save the girl, or be the idiot who stood there and did nothin', as usual. Wouldn't be any different from the last 16 years of my life.

Hmm, maybe I could be the hero, for once.


End file.
